


Startle Reflex

by mmmdraco



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 16:04:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1905198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It shouldn't be possible to sneak up on werewolves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Startle Reflex

**Author's Note:**

> Written off of a prompt I got on my [tumblr](http://superhappygenki.tumblr.com).

It shouldn't be possible to sneak up on werewolves. But, Stiles had discovered that it was totally possible if you used the same toiletries as the werewolf (totally a coincidence and not the result of snooping at all) and happened to catch them when they were focused on something else. 

The first time had been when a car backfired outside of the loft and Derek had focused all of his senses on it only to turn with a gasp, his claws suddenly extended, when Stiles put a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, you should go wash your claws. You look like you've been digging in the dirt." He smirked and walked away.

It worked in reverse, too. A wolfed-out Derek had been keeping an eye out for whatever had been infiltrating his territory and leaving claw marks on the trees. They'd all split up to search, but Stiles couldn't resist trying to join up with Derek when he saw him, jumping over a tree root and landing beside him. "Derek!"

Derek turned and suddenly shifted back to the very human-looking Derek that Stiles kind of preferred. (What? Both versions were equally good in a fight... which really wasn't saying much.) "Stiles- You need to be careful."

Holding up his baseball bat, Stiles grinned. "I am being careful. But, I totally just snuck up on you. Again. Can you seriously not here me coming? You complain about how loud my heart is all the time."

"I guess I'm finally getting used to it." Derek frowned, and then he twisted his neck and was suddenly wolfy again.

He wasn't entirely certain why he'd tried it with Derek first, but it had worked, and that was awesome. Only, when he tried the exact same maneuvers on Scott? Well, those didn't work as well. In fact, it kind of led to him laying on his back in the hallway at school trying to catch his breath from where the wind had been knocked out of him. "Stiles! I didn't mean to flip you like that, dude. I heard you coming from, like, a mile away and just wanted to get you back for trying to get me. You okay?"

Holding up a thumb, Stiles nodded and tried not to be as obvious about trying to make his lungs work.

He would have tried it with Peter, but he was not paying a hundred bucks on some weird cologne for the masking effect just to mess with Peter. It was way too easy to rile him up anyway.

That was the thing that made him realize how few actual werewolves were left in town. They had supernatural creatures galore, sure, but the initial problem of "werewolves" had only been the gateway to whatever else was out there. He thought about Scott's actions, though, and it led him to Derek once more. The man was in the grocery store and Stiles threw a package of Pop-tarts into his basket and got a burst of flashing eyes that made him slap his hands over Derek's face. "Not in public!"

Derek growled softly and pulled Stiles' hands away. "Stop sneaking up on me!"

"I shouldn't even be able to!" Stiles sighed. "You have so little regard for me that I don't even get on your radar until I annoy you. That's it, isn't it?"

Picking up the box of Pop-tarts, Derek shoved them back at Stiles. "No. Kind of the opposite. I always assume you're going to be there, so you jump out of nowhere and it reminds me that you weren't there all along."

"What?" Fingers clutched onto the cardboard box in his hands, Stiles took a half step backward. "Why would you assume I'll always be there?"

"Because every time I need you, you are." Derek shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't mean to start doing it."

Pushing the box back on the shelf, Stiles cleared his throat. "So, you don't mind having me around, then?"

"I mind that you keep breaking my concentration. But, otherwise? No. I... I'm okay with having you around." Derek walked down the grocery aisle further and picked up a box of Frosted Flakes. "You could come over tonight."

"Is there some new big bad in town? Because I should really start to get text updates on this kind of thing." Stiles found himself walking next to Derek.

Grabbing a box of granola bars, too, Derek shook his head. "No. Nothing new. Just... hanging out."

Stiles snorted. "Are you asking me on a date? Because I feel like I should warn you that I have no clue just how fast I'm willing to put out."

Derek froze, his eyes going wide. "No! I just... Yes?"

"Wait, what?" Stiles slapped a hand over his mouth and then grabbed a box of Cocoa Puffs with the other hand before adding it to Derek's basket and letting both hands drop to his sides. "Just in case I'm still there in the morning, then. I don't want to startle you by making eggs for you."

The tips of his ears slightly pink, Derek strode further forward. "I wouldn't get startled if you properly smelled like me."

"The body wash wasn't enough?" Stiles turned the corner with Derek and grinned.

Derek gripped the basket tightly. "No. You smelled too much like the couch or something. You sit on it and it smells more like you than me and just... I wouldn't mind you smelling like us."

Stiles leaned against Derek gently as they walked. "I don't think I'd mind that, either. Why do you think I bought the same kind of body wash?"

Licking his lips, Derek leaned in closer and let his fangs extend slightly, just enough for Stiles to see. "Don't worry. In the morning, you can just use mine."


End file.
